What is a solicitation?

The notion of solicitation is not clear, whether the word includes an influential conduct to a number of consumers; if so an advertisement shall be included within the solicitation.

The Japanese consumer contract law, Art.4 and Art. 12, states that a consumer can rescind the contract, in case the contract is made by mistake of consumer, caused by the unfair solicitation of business entity. If an advertisement to general consumer is not included within a solicitation, the consumer cannot revoke the contract if the business conduct is regarded as misleading. The Consumer Affairs Agency stated that a solicitation did not include any influential business conducts to general consumers. Consumer groups objected the interpretation of the agency.

The Supreme Court ended the controversial issue on 24^th January 2017.

http://www.courts.go.jp/app/hanrei_jp/detail2?id=86454

In the case, the claimant, a consumer body in Kansai asked the injunction of the alleged misleading advertisement of .defendant, seller of Chlorella foods. The defendant claimed that the Consumer Contract Law, Art 12 and Art. 4 only could be applied to the solicitation not to a general consumer, but to specific consumer.

The Supreme Court ruled that even if the business conduct that it induced the general consumer to make contract, it is possible such unfair business conduct to be objected to injunction.

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